Denver Nuggets star forward Danilo Gallinari drove to the free throw line extended and suffered a left foot injury (a chip fracture) in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 99-90 home loss to the Houston Rockets, and left the Pepsi Center in a walking boot after the game on Monday night. Gallinari has thrived in the Nuggets' fast-paced attack this season, leading the team with 17.0 points per contest, but the Italian forward sounded worried that he would miss extended time after an on-site X-rays revealed a chip fracture in his left foot. He is scheduled to undergo a CT scan on Tuesday to better determine the extent of the injury.
"Nervous. Nervous that I'm going to be out for a while," Gallinari said to reporters when asked about his reaction to the play that forced him to hobble off the court after hitting his free throws. His comments to the Nuggets' team website echoed those sentiments:
"I am worried, but injuries happen," said Gallinari, who is averaging a team-leading 17 points per game. "I'm not happy it happened to me. I wanted to play (after the injury) and I wanted to win this game more than anything. I'll be out ... I don't know how long."
Just as the Nuggets were picking up steam in the Western Conference, Gallinari's injury puts the team down to one healthy starter: star point guard Ty Lawson. Even Lawson has been dealing with his own injuries, so it will be interesting to see if Denver can somehow keep their season afloat without the majority of their starting lineup available to George Karl. Rudy Fernandez will be asked to step up his play if Gallinari misses extended time.
Here is a look at the injury via NBA.com (check it out around the around the 1:05 mark in the video):
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